know you’re thinking "Kona already has a long-travel hardtail, the Honzo." Well you’re on the right track, but we just spotted this aluminum brother on the Kona website (among the complete 2013 lineup).

The Taro takes its attitude straight from its steel brother, but incorporates a 6061 aluminum frame and geared-only dropouts. The same short chainstay/slack headtube basics are there, including the 68-degree headtube though the chainstays clock in at a slightly-longer 16.5 inches (vs. 16.3 on the Honzo).

The complete build includes a 1×9 drivetrain with a RockShox Sektor 120mm fork and an MSRP of $1,299.

The Honzo gets some tweaks as well, with some retro graphics, a lower top tube, and 12x142mm sliding dropouts, which I believe can be retro-fitted to 2012 Honzos.